Philip Dunne MP, Ludlow voted to require the Government to publish a detailed cost-benefit analysis of ID card scheme before it goes into force

The majority of MPs voted to take out[1] a provision inserted by the House of Lords[2] into the Identity Cards Bill which said:[3]

Before the Identity Cards laws can be enforced, the Government must publish a detailed report stating all the costs of the system since 2004 and a cost estimate by year for the next ten years, and a statement of the expected benefits of the system.

The minister argued that making these costs available "would be prejudicial to securing the best value from the use of public money".[4]

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